Finest veneer appliqués turn a motorbike into a real eye-catcher

Bad Honnef. Michael Gerstenmayer is a fifth generation joiner. No wonder that he is really into wood and even spends his free time passionately trying out new ideas with the natural material. One day, as he had a flexible piece of veneer in his hand, he looked for somewhere special to use it. He first made fruit dishes out of it, but then he had a completely different idea: It must be possible to use the flexible veneer to give his motorbike a unique design. “My first attempt to customise the tank with veneer was a real challenge. But once I'd started, I then veneered the whole motorbike, said Gerstenmayer.

Fascinated by the result, he then exhibited his motorbike at several custom bike shows. His bike, individually designed with veneer, went down a treat. After using his veneered motorbike for two years, he was certain that the applied veneer was fully resistant to wind and weather. Spurred on by the abundant positive encouragement, he then started his next project of customising a BMW R nineT with 3D veneer. He used walnut and maple veneer and drew on inspiration from the famous Riva wooden boats of the 1960s for the design.

He attached the natural material to the motorbike in the form of specially designed veneer pads. Since then he has also offered his self-adhesive veneer pads for sale. “Veneer lends everyday objects a new look and feel. A motorbike customised with the natural material not only becomes a one-off, but also a real eye-catcher, said Ursula Geismann, Secretary of Initiative Furnier und Natur e. V. (IFN/RK)

Initiative Furnier + Natur (IFN)
Initiative Furnier + Natur (IFN) e.V. was founded in 1996 by the German veneer industry and its partners. The purpose of the association based in Bad Honnef is to promote veneer as a material. It is funded and supported by European companies in the veneer industry, trade and the veneer processing industry as well as professional associations of the timber industry.